Item Detail
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Teasdale, Tilly
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MSS SC 929
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Letter
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A letter from Tilly Teasdale to her friend, Mrs. Alice Bird, dated August 2, 1891, from Chihuahua, Mexico. Tilly recounts to her friend her journey to Mexico on a train with 28 other Mormons. There were two men, seven women, and the rest children on board. She also tells of the conditions of her new home, the people she associates with, and implores Mrs. Bird to write back quickly.
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This letter is written on one sheet of paper, folded into four sections. The hand- writing is a little faded and somewhat difficult to read. Tilly tells her friend of the journey to Mexico, without speaking of the reason she was going to live there. She says that people gathered at every train station they stopped at to get a look at 'the Mormonsto see our horns I suppose.' Though the journey was long, Tilly says that they were comfortable in their car. The new country was different than Tilly expected, with many trees, plentiful amounts of grapes, and all kinds of vegetables. The sandy, dry ground was so hot that it burned her feet right through her shoes. The people received water every three weeks, though Tilly does not mention from whom, and everyone irrigated their gardens with water brought up by the plentiful amount of windmills. Tilly tells of how happy she was to find the meeting house of the area to be very nice, complete with an organ. Although Tilly says she enjoys her new home, there are aspects that she does not like. For instance, she tells of how the Mexican prices are so unreliable, depending on the mood of the vendor that day. Also, diphtheria caused a number of deaths in her area, resulting in the closure of Sunday School and Primary for a time. At the time of the letter, however, the disease had subsided and church meetings were being held once again.
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